Re: Alien Conlang

What's "best" depends entirely on the cultural context.  If I recall
correctly, the Klingon Bible Translation Project assumes human
missionaries - in that case, there was also established contact
between the aliens and the humans, and the language already has words
for "Earth", "human", etc.   Nevertheless, if the intent is to win
alien converts to a religion, it might be best not to translate things
in a human-biased way. :)

Then again, despite the pains early Christians went to in order to
downplay the Jewish basis of their faith, they still translated the
original Jewish scriptures faithfully, complete with the references to
the Jews as the Chosen People.  They relied on additional explanatory
material (e.g. the epistles of Paul) to clarify the universality they
now read into those passages.  Perhaps extraterrestrial ministry calls
for a third Testament, or some new extrascriptural material, similar
in concept to the Talmud.

On 2/27/07, Dave Rutan <rutan3@...> wrote:
> If you want to translate, say bits of the Bible into a conlang which
> belongs to a non-human alien specie, how is it best to translate terms
> such as 'earth', 'man', etc.
>
> I did one, not the one below, and I used a translation of 'world' for
> 'earth'  For 'people' I used 'sentient beings'.  Is it best to translate
> it as if it were their own, or as if a missionary showed up on their
> world and gave them the Bible?
>
> Dave
> --
> Seg, kaut Chai wee estfol ashhalsh estlorai edchai aifbesh edestshuig
> venai, lif taifee estkerden lou Chai jarjathai aich emmaikom, ob emjaib
> marwai aintaiv. (Jn 3:16 in Koplushian)
>

--
Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>

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